Yeah, that and they're uberChristian which kind of scares me (I am not secure enough with my own religion to deal with someone else's).

I am starting at Baylor in the Spring and they definitely have uberChristian tendencies!!! During my undergrad there they made sure we were aware of that by forcing chapel forum on us which was basically a church meeting 3 times a week for an hour with singing, preaching, but no dancing, oh no none of that...that could lead to fire and brimstone!!!

How does this work? I never quite understood the whole Jewish thing in the first place. Are you Jewish based on your religion, or your race? Is it a race? If your maternal grandmother converts toJudiasm, are you then a Jew too? So confusing.

I found out that my last name is a Jewish name, which is interesting considering that, as far as I know, no members of my family have ever been Jewish.

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vmersich

How does this work? I never quite understood the whole Jewish thing in the first place. Are you Jewish based on your religion, or your race? Is it a race? If your maternal grandmother converts toJudiasm, are you then a Jew too? So confusing.

I found out that my last name is a Jewish name, which is interesting considering that, as far as I know, no members of my family have ever been Jewish.

It goes through the mother's blood. If you have a jewish last name, you probably aren't jewish, unless your mother's maiden name (assuming all kinds of things here, obviously) is also jewish and somewhere on the mother's side someone was jewish.

well, that is not clear. in my case it was my maternal grandmother that converted. that made my mom officially still jewish, and hence the same with me. As David Cross says, it's a sort of bull loophole.

buster

My parents were both raised Jewish. Both turned away from organized religion entirely, and I was therefore raised without religion. I guess I'm still technically Jewish, though, eh? Any kids of Mrs. Buster and I, on the other hand, will not be, despite being 3/4 Jewish by blood. Spooky!

I'm pretty certain that I'm not Jewish, especially since, as you said, my last name comes from my father's side. But this whole thing is mystifying to me. Christianity seems a lot simpler - adopt it or chuck it at will.

The origin of the tradition is fairly mundane; in times gone by, it wasn't always possible to know who the father was, but it's usually possible to know whether the mother was Jewish (the exception being orphans of unknown origins and the like). There's no value judgement involved, just pragmatism (and, in modern times, inertia).